The release of the revised Macquarie Point Stadium concept designs have been welcomed on the Australian island state of Tasmania by its meeting industry leaders. Construction work on the project is due to start this year with completion scheduled for 2029. The multi-purpose stadium will be the home ground of Tasmania Football Club.
Business Events Tasmania (BET), the specialist bidding organisation that markets Tasmania as a business meeting destination, has noted that the inclusion of a 1,500-person function room, with supporting suites and meeting spaces, will provide opportunities to attract a range of larger events, conferences and exhibitions.
“BET is excited by the new concept stadium renders that feature a Tasmanian timber exterior and roof; we think it’s a great design and uniquely Tasmanian,” BET chair Dom Baker said.
“Specifically, we are pleased that as a fully enclosed venue, the concourse, field and corporate areas provide opportunities for a range of larger events and exhibitions.
“Other notable features of the design include a stage pocket in the northern stand to support concerts and events, which will minimise impact on the field and reduce costs for event operators, and separated back of house and catering facilities with a below ground service road to separate vehicles, visitors and users.”
Baker said the importance of conferences and business events to the Tasmanian visitor and general economy should not be underestimated. “They have far-reaching benefits for restaurants, retailers, entertainers and transport,” he said. “And the extra function capacity will support the increasing accommodation options around Hobart (with Double Tree Hilton opening in Hobart in the new year).”
The Tasmanian government is providing A$5m (US$3.38m) in funding to BET over the next two years, including a A$3.8m investment into the Business Event Attraction Fund (BEAF) to provide financial incentives for event planners choosing Tasmania for their meeting or event.
Baker said business events were worth A$199m to the annual Tasmanian economy and this figure was likely to increase when organisations have access to the proposed 1,500-person function area in the Macquarie Point precinct.
When completed, the stadium will be the largest timber-roofed stadium in the world.
The A$715m project has generated political controversy with Tasmania’s opposition Labor Party, which had promised to scrap the project if it won the state election earlier this year, saying it now supports the stadium.
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